


Lambent Flames Lead Us to Safety

by CaptainStarSong



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Peter Parker, Camping, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Hydra, Infinity War hasn't happened, Iron Dad, Kidnapping, Movie Night, Not exactly Infinity War compliant, Past Character Death, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Scary Stories Around the Fire, Spider-son, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark is Good With Kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 16:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15586098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainStarSong/pseuds/CaptainStarSong
Summary: When Tony decides to take Peter on a three day camping trip to the Catskills he was expecting a lot of hiking, stargazing, scary stories by the fire, and sharing s’mores with his favorite kid. What he would have never expected was how far their camping trip would be derailed, and by HYDRA of all things. Now the two will have to rely on each to survive and to make it home safely.Featuring angst, hurt characters, HYDRA, nature, scary stories, movie nights, BAMF Peter, protective Tony Stark, and father-son bonding and fluff.





	Lambent Flames Lead Us to Safety

**Author's Note:**

> Hey loves! Hope you guys enjoy this one, it's been on my mind for months so I'm excited to share it <3 Please enjoy!

From the moment that Peter had arrived to the tower for their weekly movie night Tony could tell something was wrong with the kid. After over a year of knowing the kid and being his mentor ( _father figure_ , a small voice that sounded suspiciously like Pepper piped up in his head, which he promptly shoved to the side), he liked to think that he knew Peter and his habits well enough by now.

Usually when Peter arrived he was a ball of endless of energy, babbling excitedly about his day to Tony as the older man listened with amused fondness. The kid also never sat still as he talked, either fidgeting with his hands or shaking his leg up and down.

So when Peter had arrived with just a muted “hey” and sat down heavily on the couch Tony instantly knew something was wrong. Tony’s problem wasn’t detecting when something was wrong with Peter, however. No, his problem was that he had absolutely no clue what the kid’s issue could be or how to even try to fix it.

Since it was late June Peter was on summer break, meaning that the problem couldn’t be because of that Dash asshole kid or whatever his name was. It also couldn’t have been because of a patrol gone wrong since Tony made sure that Karen would alert him if Peter was even the slightest bit hurt, both physically and/or mentally. That left Tony at a dead end on what the issue could be.

Currently Tony was in the kitchen making some popcorn as he watched the kid sit on the couch in silence. He was tempted to text May and ask her if she knew why Peter looked so down, but he stopped himself when he realized she was probably working. That meant that Tony would have to deal with the problem alone. _Really wish Pepper was here_ , he thought as he poured the popcorn into a bowl.

“So Pete,” Tony began as he walked into the living room with the popcorn (extra buttery, Peter’s favorite kind). “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing,” Peter answered detachedly. “Just stayed home today and watched stuff on Netflix. Took a nap. Texted Ned, the usual.”

“That’s, uh, good I guess,” Tony awkwardly responded, sitting down next to the kid as he set the popcorn bowl on the coffee table. “So why do you seem so down then? Get into a fight with Fred?” Tony made sure to get Ned’s name wrong, that usually caused Peter to glare adorably at him.

“Ned,” Peter corrected, proving Tony right as the kid glared at him with his doe eyes. “And no we didn’t, I’m fine.”

“I don’t think so, bud,” Tony told the boy as gently as possible. “Whenever you come over you’re like a puppy on a sugar high, but tonight you seem really… meh.”

“Meh?” Peter echoed, a ghost of a smile settling on his face.

“Shut up,” Tony muttered with no heat, glad the kid was almost exhibiting a positive emotion again. “I’m not that great at this heart to heart stuff or whatever, pretty sure I’m allergic to it.”

“Ms. Potts says that’s your excuse for everything,” Peter snarked with a roll of his eyes. “Whether it be talks or paperwork or even meetings.”

“You see! You’re extra teenager-y tonight,” Tony poked Peter’s cheek, which caused the kid to swat his hand away.

“Pretty sure that’s not a word,” Peter mumbled, staring at the blank TV screen.

“Kiddo,” Tony tried, “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what the problem is.”

Peter sighed in partial annoyance and tipped his head backwards to lean against the top of the couch. Tony was afraid that the kid would continue to insist that he was fine, but instead he said, “It’s nothing super serious. May and I were supposed to go on a little vacation next week, from Monday to Wednesday, but it got cancelled. The hospital is super short staffed again, so they had to deny her her vacation days for the next two weeks.”

Tony mulled over the new information. “You guys can’t just pick a new date for later next month?”

But Peter was already shaking his head. “No it’s, uh, tradition to go for those days specifically, so it’s not the same if we go some other time.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Why those days? And where were you guys even going to go for three days, that’s not much time to do a lot.”

Peter bit his lip and turned to look over at Tony. “It’s stupid.”

“Kid, I’m sure it’s really not, especially if you were looking forward to it so much.”

Peter blew a quick breath out and went back to staring at the white ceiling. “Ok, so every year since I started living with my Aunt and Uncle, Ben would take me on a camping trip in the Catskills for three days, always from June 26 to June 28. It was a tradition for us. When he…” Peter trailed off for a moment before he cleared his throat. “When he passed away, May started taking me. This is the first year that our trip has been completely cancelled so I’m kind of really upset about it.” He glanced back to Tony. “Like I said, stupid.”

“Why is that stupid?” Tony asked, genuinely confused. If he were the kid he would be upset too.

“Because,” Peter started as he began to nervously play with the hem of his T-shirt, “I shouldn’t be this upset about this. I mean we used to go every year, so it’s not like the trail and scenery changes much. Plus it’s not May’s fault, or even the hospital’s- they really need the people. I don’t know why I’m even so upset about this!” Peter’s voice cracked at the end of his explanation, causing him to wince and groan. “I’m sorry Mr. Stark, I don’t mean to sound so immature, I swear.”

“Honestly kid, you’re allowed to be upset about this,” Tony told him.

“Really?” Peter asked him shyly.

“Completely! I know I’m not really one for traditions and all that fun jazz, but I know how important they are to some people, and it seems that you loved this tradition a lot, so I’m sorry that it got cancelled for you,” Tony said, wrapping an arm around the kid. Peter leaned more towards him and sighed.

“Do you know why Ben used to take me on those days specifically?” Before Tony could respond, Peter continued on. “The 27th is the day that my parents died. Around the first anniversary of their deaths I got depressed, and Uncle Ben hated to see me so upset. That’s why he decided to take me camping on those days, so that I would have something to distract me from my grief. He said he didn’t want me to just be dreading that day, instead he wanted me to be looking forward to something good. And I guess he was right, because I was too busy enjoying the trip to really focus on my grief. It helped me a lot when I was little, and the older I got the more I looked forward to this trip.”

Tony squeezed Peter’s shoulder in comfort. “Your uncle was a smart man, then. It was good that he gave you a healthy way to cope.”

Peter shot him a melancholic smile. “Yeah, Ben wasn’t exactly book smart like you and me, but he was one of the smartest guys I ever knew.”

“And from the way you talk about him, he sounded like one of the best guys around.”

“He was.” Peter cleared his throat again before leaning his head against Tony’s shoulder. “Thanks Mr. Stark.”

“For what?” Tony asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

“For just listening,” Peter shrugged. “It really helps a lot.”

“Anything for you, kiddo,” Tony promised.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Tony thought over everything the kid had shared. While Peter said he was thankful that Tony even took the time to even listen to him, Tony felt like he could do more for the kid. As he stared at the ceiling an idea began to take shape in his mind. Glancing down at the kid, he cleared his throat to catch Peter’s attention. When Peter looked up Tony said, “Hey kid? I might have an idea so you can still keep your tradition alive.”

“Really?” Peter asked, voice getting a little excited.

Tony smiled slightly down at the kid. “Yep. I was thinking that instead of cancelling your trip completely, why don’t I just take you.”

Under Tony’s arm Peter stilled completely, holding his breath. He stared at Tony with wide eyes.. “Are you being serious?”

“Well I mean, if you and May would be ok with the idea,” Tony added, taking Peter’s reaction as a negative. “I completely understand if you don’t though, I know that this is a family thing and how important it is to you, so-”

Tony cut himself off when the kid practically threw himself at him, wrapping his arms around the man. “OhmygoshthankyouMrStarkyou’rethebest!!!”

Tony laughed as he returned the hug. “I literally have no clue what you said, kid, but I’ll take it as something good.”

Peter leaned backwards to send a large grin at his mentor. “I said thanks Mr. Stark, you’re the best!” He blinked a moment before the grin slipped off his face. “But are you sure, Mr. Stark? I don’t want to force you into this.”

Tony shook his head. “Kid, I’m offering, if I didn’t want to go I wouldn’t have even offered.”

Peter bit his lip as he stared at Tony. “Still… I mean have you ever even been camping?”

“Well, no,” Tony admitted. “But I’m sure it’s not that hard, if I could survive in the desert alone with no supplies I could survive camping with you with supplies.”

“You’re sure,” Peter asked, but the smile was beginning to return to his face. “Cuz you know, there’s gonna be a lot of hiking and climbing, right? Plus there’s bears in the area, and we’re not exactly gonna be staying in a five star hotel.”

“Geez, kid,” Tony muttered, rolling his eyes.

“What?” Peter laughed. “I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into.”

“Trust me, kiddo, I’ll be fine. I’ve faced down people trying to kill me, aliens trying to destroy the world, and even the rest of the Avengers, camping will be a breeze.”

Tony didn’t know how it was possible but Peter’s grin widened. “Whatever you say, Mr. Stark.”

“That’s it, come here you ungrateful brat,” Tony mock growled, pulling the kid in to ruffle his hair.

“Mr. Stark!” Peter whined while giggling, trying to bat away his hands. “C’mon, not the hair!”

“That’s for doubting my camping abilities,” Tony sniffed, but gave the kid some mercy.

“Oh, excuse me,” Peter smirked as he fixed his hair. “Didn’t know you took your camping skills so seriously.”

“You learn something new every day, kid,” Tony shrugged, bending forward to pick up the popcorn bowl. Peter quickly to the bowl and grabbed a piece, throwing it up in the air only to catch it with his mouth a moment later. “Anyways, where exactly are we going camping?”

“The Slide Mountain loop,” Peter answered quickly. “It’s in the Catskills.”

“Don’t think I’ve ever been there,” Tony commented, watching the kid in amusement as he continued to throw and catch the popcorn pieces.

“It’s one of my favorite places ever,” Peter said with a fond smile. “There’s these three mountains, and Ben and I used to climb one every single day. They have amazing view, you could see all around you for miles! And then every night we’d make a campfire and tell scary stories, he always told the best stories.”

“Wait until I tell you some of my own scary stories,” Tony said with a smirk. “You won’t be able to sleep for weeks.”

“We’ll see,” Peter smiled. “Hey, what movie are we even supposed to watch tonight?”

“FRIDAY,” Tony called out. “What’s next on the list.”

A moment later FRIDAY answered. “ _Fast Times At Ridgemont High_ , boss.”

“Seriously kid,” Tony asked with a raised eyebrow. “You haven’t watched that masterpiece before?”

“I haven’t even heard of it,” Peter shrugged. When Peter and Tony had first began their movie nights both had made a list of their favorite movies, and then made another list of the movies they hadn’t seen from the first list. Every week they took turns watching the other’s favorite movie that they hadn’t watched before. This week was Peter’s turn to watch one of Tony’s favorite movies. “Is this another teen 80s movie?”

“What, they’re classics,” Tony said, nudging his shoulder. “You kids these days don’t know good movies if they hit you over the head.”

“Whenever you say stuff like that you sound like an old man,” Peter pointed out with a grin.

“Brat.”

“Senior citizen.”

“Where has this sass even come from,” Tony shook his head. “You wound me, kid.”

Peter shrugged. “I try.”

Tony ruffled Peter’s hair before the kid could protest. “After the movie ends we can plan out our little camping trip. You sure May’s gonna be fine with this?”

Peter waved a dismissive hand. “She’ll love the idea, she doesn’t actually like camping. I mean she doesn’t hate it, but it’s not her favorite thing in the world, she does it mostly for me.”

“As long as she’s fine with me taking you.” Tony shifted on the couch, finding a more comfortable position as he settled in to watch the movie. Wrapping his arm around Peter again, he called out, “FRIDAY, lights, and start the movie.”

A moment later the lights in the living room dimmed as the screen turned on. Peter leaned his head against Tony’s shoulder and quietly whispered, “Thanks again, Mr. Stark, I’m really lucky to have you.”

Tony smiled fondly as he squeezed his kid’s shoulder. “Nah kid, I’m the lucky one.”

The two settled in as the movie started, enjoying the rest of the night like they usually did on movie night. _Yep, I’m the lucky one_ , Tony thought, watching Peter laugh at one of the jokes on screen. _What did I ever do to deserve such a good kid?_

Whatever the answer Tony didn’t care- he was just glad to have Peter in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again! I really hope you guys like this so far. Not exactly sure how long this fic will be, it's mostly planned out but I still need to edit parts of it. And sorry if this first chapter seems short! Originally it was longer, but it felt way too long for a first chapter so I decided to end it here for now. I also wanted this first prologue chapter to be fluffy since this fic will feature HYDRA and their brand of terribleness. But don't worry! There will still be quite a lot of fluff and, later, some hurt/comfort.
> 
> The places I will mention are real, but I haven't been to the Catskills in quite some time (I live in New Jersey, the drive up there is long), so please don't kill me if I get some details wrong lol. But do correct me please! I love to learn where I can improve. If you caught any spelling or grammar errors do let me know, too!
> 
> I'll most likely post chapters once or twice weekly, with the ultimate goal of finishing this before my school semester starts in September. If I don't, don't even worry- I'll still upload during the semester until I finish this. 
> 
> Thanks again guys, if you liked it so far please comment or leave a kuddos if possible! And don't forget to check out my Tumblr where I post updates, take prompts, and just generally reblog Iron Dad & Spider-Son content. My username there is the same as here. Love you all and I hope you'll stick around <3


End file.
